Defendants appear in court on Monday for sentencing in connection with the lorry tragedy that left 39 Vietnamese citizens dead.  — Photo congan.com.vn

Three others were also given suspended sentences at Ha Tinh People’s Court on Monday.

They were prosecuted in connection with the death of Pham Thi Tra My, 26, who sent a number of harrowing text messages to her family when she was trapped in the refrigeration unit of the lorry as it entered the UK in October.

Nguyen Quoc Thanh, born in 1994, of Can Tho City was sentenced seven and half years in jail, fined VND20 million and had US$ 3,000 revoked; Nguyen Thi Thuy Hoa, born in 1984, of Nghe An Province sentenced to six years in jail and fined VND15 million, Tran Dinh Truong, born in 1985, of Ha Tinh Province, sentenced of five years in jail and fined VND10 million and Nguyen Xuan Trieu, born in 1996, sentenced to two and a half in jail plus fine of VND10 million.

Le Van Hue, 53 years old, Vo Van Ky, 58 years old and Vo Van Ho 68 years old, all from Nghe An Province, were given between 12 and 18 month suspended sentences and fined VND5 million each.

The trial was first opened in August, but was adjourned due to the absence of the majority of witnesses.

On Monday, the seven accused were found guilty of "organising and brokering illegal emigration".

The defendant Vo Van Ky was absent from the court as he is being treated for cancer.

The court was told the defendant Truong asked Hoa to arrange to send Pham Thi Tra My, of Ha Tinh Province’s Can Loc District, to France in order to enter the UK.

The price to smuggle her to England was $21,000 and Hoa sent My to China on a tourism visa and then using false documents she flew to France.

Hoa, Thanh and Thanh’s sister - Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, 31 years old, of Can Tho City together made the fake documents which facilitated My’s trip.

On October 19, 2019, on the way from France to UK, My was found by UK police and expelled from UK, returning to France.

But just four days later she made the journey again, this time hidden in the refrigerated container with 38 other Vietnamese nationals.

When they arrived in Essex, their lifeless bodies were discovered in the back of the lorry.

The judges said the defendants had engaged in dangerous violations of immigration and labour export laws, but recognised the fact that they had cooperated with the investigators and been willing to address the consequences.

Seven people involved in trafficking My and tens of others to the UK were arrested by Ha Tinh police in February.

The defendant Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, was identified as the ring leader but he has since fled away and is wanted internationally.

Between May and October 2019, Diem allegedly instructed Thanh to work with Hoa, Ky, Ho and Hue to prepare documents for many people who wanted to go to Europe to work.

They proposed two routes: via China or Greece at the cost of $17,000-20,000 per person. When their clients reached their destinations, they would be given fake identification documents and moved on to another country.

Investigators found that from May to October 2019, Hoa, Thanh, Truong, Hue, Trieu, Ho and Ky organised and brokered to send 22 people to China and then fled to UK. Hoa and Thanh each earned $3,000, Truong and Hue each earned $1,500, Trieu $1,000, Ho VND20 million and Ky earned VND18 million.

Truong told investigators that he had worked in the UK.

He had only instructed My, his cousin, to go to France, he told authorities, insisting that he had nothing to do with her journey to the UK.

It was "inappropriate" for the authorities to conclude that he caused her death, he said. Truong also said he "does not clearly remember" how many people he’d helped get to Europe.

Thanh was identified as one of the kingpins who helped 71 people to enter Europe illegally.

Of the 39 victims in the truck tragedy, 21 were from Nghe An Province and 10 from Ha Tinh and the rest from the provinces of Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Hai Duong and Hai Phong City.

In June, a court in Nghe An Province sentenced a local woman to 15 months in jail for helping a friend enter the UK. The friend was among the 39 truck tragedy victims.

Meanwhile, in UK, 40-year-old Irishman Ronan Hughes pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges last month and Northern Irishman truck driver Maurice Robinson pleaded guilty in April for causing the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people.

A charity in England that rescues and supports migrant workers smuggled into the UK, on Monday welcomed the sentences handed down to a gang jailed in connection with the death of one of the Essex lorry victims.

On Tuesday, Patricia Durr, Chief Executive of ECPAT UK, said: “The sentencing is a stark reminder that the tragedy of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children found dead in a lorry here in the UK nearly one year ago demands justice. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of all the victims.

“Criminals worked together across borders to exploit the desperation of young victims, including 10 teenagers.  

“In our work to support children and young people who have been trafficked here in the UK we see time and time again the impact of insecurity and trauma on them and the visceral human need for safety and protection, care and stability to help them to recover, heal and contribute.” VNS

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